Checkmate
by Reizna
Summary: He apologizes for his words, but not for stealing her first kiss. And after which, he compares her to the respective role and chess piece.  Nine/Queen


That was probably the tenth time in the past week. She had stormed off with her temper flared. She argued that she was only doing what her responsibilities asked of her. And he had countered by asking her what would she rather be doing instead of her responsibilities. She had said nothing about herself, further attacking him. That was when he told her firmly to lighten up.

And her shoulders began to shake. Her posture read that she didn't take crap from her and would not do so anymore. So she had stormed out of the classroom, muttering to herself.

Scratching the back of his head, Nine raised an eyebrow. "What's her problem?"

"You really shouldn't set her off like that. After all, she's done a lot for us." said King offhandedly. Apparently, he had witnessed the scene between Nine and Queen the moment before. "Especially for you, Mr. 'I-need-to-train-more-than-I-have-to-study'."

"What are you talking about?" Nine folded his arms, cocking his head as he glanced at his fellow blond classmate.

King merely sighed. "Against her better judgment, she's been covering for you every time you went off on your escapades, involving _whatever_, or cut class."

"It's tough being in her shoes, choosing to protect a classmate over reporting you for slacking off." Sice nodded in agreement as she began to walk in the direction Queen stormed off. "She might be in the usual place."

As Sice walked off, the new girl Rem moved to take her place around King and Nine. There was a notebook in her hand. If Nine looked close enough, he would have seen Queen's neat handwriting, documenting everything he had missed from the previous day's lecture – which he had skipped.

"Seriously, take it easy on her. This is – what – the ninth or tenth time you angered this week? Give her a break." Rem advised. "The more you bug her like this, the more it looks like you're interested in her."

Now that was something new Nine hadn't heard. Perhaps, he was a little intrigued.

"She thinks you're stupid but you always know what to say to irritate her. Why is that?" Ace fiddled with his cards while Nine merely shrugged. Thanks to Rem, the troublemaker now knew why he loved to go out of his way to irritate her.

"Ace, can't you see it?" King began to chuckle. "So the slacker likes our class president. It's like a cheesy chick flick."

Nine was silent. Maybe he was.

"See, no denial there." Rem laughed.

"Or it's a general affection for her. We all do work together." Ace replied.

King sighed. "What makes you say that?"

"Because he's flirty with everyone else except her?" Ace muttered.

Both Rem and King facepalmed. Ace was just not getting it.

Nine was slowly beginning to get irritated."As much as I love to hear you all talk about me, could you at least not talk as if I'm not here?"

"Just go find her and say sorry." King offered his advice. "If you don't, she's going to be difficult to work with. And she is Class President. She can make your life hell if she wanted to."

Nine glanced around the classroom. He was taking it pretty easy. He imagined Queen eternally glaring at his direction, spouting out ridiculous orders in actual combat, giving him the almost impossible tasks. Etro, he wanted to keep his laid-back self right now. And so he gave in with a sigh. "Fine."

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><p>He had found Sice, who had informed him that Queen was in the library. He had found her in the deserted part – the astrophysics area of the library, which was the back, where she usually insisted all of Class Zero to meet if they had troubles with their studies. When Nine had found her, she was alone, pacing alone. Her footsteps were light and lithe; for a saber-wielder, having light steps was a gift. She always landed preemptive strikes. He had seen her do it on the training grounds.<p>

"Look, I-"

She spun around, stopped and stared. "I take it King finally told you."

"Yeah, he did."

"I heard from Sice. I don't even get a thank you. Against my judgment, I turned blind eye, thinking you were trying to get stronger. But a little bird has informed him that either you've been asleep or flirting with other girls."

She could feel his warmth breath tickle the curve of her ear. "You're only mad 'cause I'm not flirting with you."

He did not.

Oh, yes, he just did.

Nine was so glad that she did not have her sword. Otherwise, he would have been so dead.

Queen stepped back, keeping a safe distance between them. "You are an egotistical, impulsive, hot-headed, arrogant—"

"So you have been thinking of me." He smirked.

She wrinkled her nose. "You flatter yourself too much."

"And yourself, too little, Your Majesty."

"Are you mocking me?"

"And what if I am?" He opened his arms up, still with that smug look on his face.

"Etro be damned, you are so annoying."

"And you can't get enough of it." At this, he sneaked his right arm around her shoulders, but she was getting too into the argument to notice.

"Shut up." She replied. Then, her eyes widened. She did not mean to reply like that. No, now it looked like she was agreeing with him. Fal'Cie damn her. Queen mentally struck herself.

"I told you." Nine stuck out his tongue childishly.

"_Nine_." She hissed dangerously.

How in the freaking fal'Cie did he get so close again? Queen didn't realize this until he shifted his stance, placing both hands on her shoulders and leaned in. His lips touched hers. Her lips were soft, untouched. And Etro, she could feel him smirking. She pulled away quickly, her cheeks flushed with both anger and embarrassment.

"Got you."

As soon as he said that, he stepped forward, leaning in for another kiss, but Queen was a quick learner. Her right hand – her sword hand - struck his cheek _hard_, causing him to stagger backward. When he glanced into her spectacle-covered eyes, he saw something.

"Etro dammit, I let my guard down." Queen cursed behind him. Nine could hear her throwing a fit. "This isn't going to happen again! You hear me?"

And all the while, he was smiling. It was too amusing to see their guarded class president all flustered and worked up over something so small. He doubted he'd get a similar reaction from one of his fangirls. Besides, he loved challenges.

He raised his arm and waved back at her casually. "Yeah, yeah. Oh, by the way, I'm sorry for what I said after class. But I'm not sorry for stealing your first kiss. You taste sweet, just letting you know."

And he swore he could hear her heart drop.

"_NINE! _Watch yourself during training._"_

And she had entered the defensive. He was right!

They were never going to forget this, for better or for worse.

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><p><em>Queen.<em>

_Whoever organized Class Zero knew she would be great for the job. She is just like her trump and her role in Chess. Queen, like her name declares, is noble, majestic and strong, forever weighing the fate of her friends and her people on her shoulders, caring for them. She's the most guarded, versatile and levelheaded when times call for it. Likewise, she is the most powerful piece in the game of Chess. Whether she likes it or not, she holds more power than King. Yeah, that's about right, but it doesn't matter if she has the power or not. She's just too fun to tease. And that won't stop me._

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: I do not own Type-0Agito XIII because if I did, this fanfiction would have been in the game.**

There's definitely going to be a companion piece for this. I can feel it. I love these two for some reason. It's amusing to write them. So expect more of these little things from me. And I'm going to go die since I wrote this in a few hours when I should have been studying for my math final. I am one final away from the end of my freshman year of university. YESSSSSSSS. And after that final, I will write the companion piece. Promise! Now please leave a review if you have anything to say. Like it? Hate it? Just tell me.


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